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Prahran, Victorian and Melbourne Stars spinner Alana King used her bag of tricks to take 9 wickets last weekend across two T20 matches against Dandenong.

Last weekend saw the Men’s competition run in a similar vein to the opening weekend of the Premier Cricket season, with a couple of one-sided results and several matches that went down to the wire.

Highlights included:

Melbourne comfortably accounting for the Camberwell Magpies, despite an early batting collapse in the run chase;

St Kilda successfully defended their total of 179 against Frankston Peninsula thanks to the bowling of Matt Hennig (5/33) and second-gamer Will Lovell (4/26);

Geelong held on enough against Casey-South Melbourne, with the target of 285 being 30 too many for the Swans;

Dandenong upset Footscray on the road, with the Panthers chasing the Dogs’ target of 201 just 4 down;

Carlton won against neighbours Melbourne University with Blues’ Keeper Brayden Stepien (128) the standout with the bat;

Frankston Peninsula chased down 273 in the last over 8 wickets down against the Monash Tigers, with Matt Gapes (130) the star for the Heat;

Northcote defeated Ringwood by just a solitary run defending 228 with tight bowling at the death the key factor in this result; and

One-sided results came in the form of Essendon over Greenvale Kangaroos (with Michael Hill’s 146 the standout performance) and Prahran over Kingston Hawthorn.

With the Men’s Competition playing a Saturday/Sunday round this weekend and the large amount of cricket being, the preview will be more focused on the tips for the weekend. There are several key games being played over the weekend, with some past rivalry matches also occurring over the weekend. The author’s tipped winners are below in red text.

The Women’s 1st XI competition last weekend saw a splitting of the points at Princes Park between Plenty Valley and Carlton-Brunswick and at the Albert Ground between Melbourne and Box Hill, while Prahran continued their unbeaten start to the season with wins in both games against Dandenong at Shepley Oval and Essendon Maribyrnong Park came away with the points from both games against Ringwood at Russell Lucas Oval.

With the WBBL season commencing this weekend, sides will begin to be depleted of their star players and will provide more opportunities for the next wave of players to showcase their talents.

Box Hill (5th) host Carlton-Brunswick (6th) at Box Hill City Oval. Both sides split the points in their respective encounters last weekend and both will be keen to take away both sets at the weekend. On paper, the Mustangs would appear to have more experience in the available players but the Strikers will be keen to see their players gel and take some points for their efforts. Gut feel says that the points to be split in this encounter.

Dandenong (7th) host Essendon Maribyrnong Park (2nd) at Shepley Oval. The Panthers were simply outclassed against Prahran while the Bombers comfortably took the points against Ringwood. The Panthers will be without Irish rep Kim Garth (Perth Scorchers) while the Bombers will be depleted by the loss of at least 3 players to WBBL duties. Expect the results to be a lot closer here, with a split of points likely.

Melbourne (4th) host Plenty Valley (3rd) at Beaumaris Secondary College – North Oval. Both sides shared points with their opponents last weekend and will be keen to keep their positions in the Top 4. Both sides are unlikely to lose anyone to the WBBL and will have the majority of their list on hand. With the feel of performances so far, I would think Melbourne will just have their nose in front to potentially ‘clean sweep’ the day.

Finally, Prahran (1st) host Ringwood (8th) at Righetti Oval. The True Blues clean-swept Dandenong while the Rams were soundly beaten by EMP. With the WBBL now kicking off, this will see Prahran’s depth tested as they will lose at least their 4 best players to this level and may help the Rams cause to be more competitive. The Rams will need to see more out of their experienced members and a couple of their younger brigade to fire to take the points in either game.

MILESTONES:

Congratulations go to the following members within Premier Cricket:

Dean Russ (Footscray) will play his 250th Premier 1st XI match on Saturday. Since his debut in the 2004/05 season, Russ has made 7,857 runs with 16 centuries (top of 184), taken 41 wickets (best of 5/45) and has taken 266 catches and 16 stumpings (the majority of these as a keeper in a previous life).

Tom Stray (Ringwood) will play his 200th Premier 1st XI match on Sunday, just a week after joining the CV 200 Club. At the time of writing, Stray has made 6,496 runs in 198 matches, with more details in last week’s preview.

Liam Scammell (Melbourne University) will play his 100th Premier 1st XI match on Saturday. Since his debut with Northcote in 2013/14 (49 matches before joining Melbourne University for the 2016/17 season), Scammell has made 1,735 runs (with a top score of 100* - his only century), taken 33 catches and last week also took his 100th Premier 1st XI wicket when he dismissed Carlton’s Nicholas Ross.

Ed Newman (Dandenong) will play his 50th Premier 1st XI match on Sunday. At the time of writing, Newman has made 622 runs in 48 matches (top score 71*) and taken 20 catches since his debut in the 2015/16 season.

Shorye Chopra (Kingston Hawthorn) will play his 50th Premier 1st XI match on Sunday. At the time of writing, Chopra has made 1,072 runs in 48 matches (best score of 87), taken 19 wickets (best 3/36) and 17 catches since his debut in the 2014/15 season with his only match for Melbourne University.

James McNeil (Melbourne University) scored his 2,000th Premier 1st XI run during his innings of 36 against Carlton last weekend.

Brayden Stepien (Carlton) scored his 1,500th Premier 1st XI run during his innings of 128 against Melbourne University.

Isaac Willett (Essendon) scored his 1,000th Premier 1st XI run during his innings of 36 against the Greenvale Kangaroos.

Umpire Jeff Diamond-Smith will officiate his 200th Premier Match this Sunday in Game 2 of the Women’s Premier 2nd XI T20s between Ringwood and Prahran.

Umpire ‘Sammy’ Muthugounder will officiate his 250th Premier Match this Sunday in the Men’s 1st XI between Northcote and Prahran.

Umpire Mike Rose will officiate his 150th Premier Match this Sunday in Game 1 of the Women’s Premier 2nd XI T20s between Ringwood and Prahran.

Umpire Arj Soman will officiate his 100th Premier Match this Saturday in the Men’s Premier 4th XI between Geelong and Melbourne.